Notes and Essays -- John Brown

The welcome Poland gave millions fleeing Russia’s invasion has curdled into resentment.  Yesterday [Sept 1] at 4:56 p.m. EDT People hold Polish and Ukrainian flags to mark Ukraine’s Independence Day in Warsaw on Aug. 24. (Mateusz Kaczmarek/Reuters)   By Anna Husarska Anna Husarska is a journalist and policy analyst . In August, a few blocks from my temporary home in the historic center of Odesa, Ukraine, a Russian ballistic missile hit a 19th-century building. It was still smoldering when I recorded a 15-second plea into my phone’s camera, in my native Polish. “I am Anna. This house in Odesa was bombed,” I said. “Let’s crowdsource for power banks for Ukraine.” I sent it to a friend in Warsaw who posted it to her Facebook page, where she has 1,400 “friends.” Within 48 hours, my video generated a whopping 955 comments, 950 of them anti-Ukrainian — almost all in Polish and many obscene. I was shocked by the quantity, but sadly not by the tone. I regularly shuttle between Poland ...

The nearly constant air raids, a shift from years of largely overnight attacks, have left residents exhausted and on edge. JB: Evidently a computer provides a leading  moving image  for this section of the original article; a moving image which my computer cannot share here for technical reasons beyond my know-how. By Siobhán O’Grady  and Yurii Shyvala Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine The New York Times Aug. 31, 2026 Updated 11:42 a.m. ET Russia has turned to a terrifying new tactic in its assaults on Ukraine, launching nonstop waves of armed drones in recent days into busy areas of the capital, Kyiv. The relentless attacks have left residents exhausted and on edge as air raid sirens bellow nearly constantly. With Moscow firing drone after drone into Kyiv, including many powered with jet engines that help them fly so fast they are difficult to intercept, many in the capital have begun to accept that they may be facing a new phase of the war. This period threatens to be more ...